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Call of Duty: Quebec company plays role in revamp

Parent company's success leaves Quebec City game developer with plenty of jobs to fill

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Thomas Wilson’s cheerfulness belies the fact he spent the last year preparing for war.

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Wilson is co-studio head and creative director at Beenox, the Quebec City game developer that helped to produce the personal computer version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the popular online shooter video game that’s being released globally Friday. Beenox’s parent, California-based Activision Blizzard Inc., is the game’s publisher, while U.S. studio Infinity Ward acted as lead developer.

“I’m excited,” Wilson said Thursday in a telephone interview from Quebec City. “A lot of work went into this game, and we think it will be a blockbuster. Fans of first-person shooter games were clamouring for a military game with a real boots-on-the ground experience.”

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For the first time since the Call of Duty franchise was created more than 15 years ago, Modern Warfare will allow players on personal computers, PS4 and Xbox One consoles to play together at once. That cross-play should significantly increase the number of players, ensuring the games run more smoothly, Wilson said.

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“This was a design challenge,” he said. “The goal was to make sure the experience is the same regardless of your platform.”

Graphically, the game has been revamped to incorporate new technologies and new photogrammetry that results in a never-before-seen level of realism, according to Wilson. The geopolitical story revolving around Captain John Price, the main character in the Call of Duty series, has also been reinvented and now involves the U.S., Russia and a clutch of Middle Eastern countries, he said.

“It’s as if we took an alternate path vis-à-vis the first Modern Warfare,” Wilson said. “We’re telling a new story that integrates contemporary political issues and new characters. It’s a way to bridge the past and the present.”

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Activision has a lot riding on the new product. Call of Duty was the best-selling console franchise worldwide last year for the ninth time in the last decade, according to Activision data. The game has generated more than $15 billion in revenue for the company since 2003, according to a recent report by Business Insider.

There’s more to Beenox than just Call of Duty. Founded in 2000, the company has also helped to develop such games as Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero and Spider-Man. Activision acquired the studio in 2005.

Beenox started working on Modern Warfare last year as soon as it finished developing Black Ops 4 with U.S. developer Treyarch, Wilson said. The studio is already busy preparing for upgrades to Modern Warfare, he added.

Activision’s success means Beenox currently has dozens of unfilled positions. Job openings including online programmers, special effects artists and development testers, according to company ads posted online.

“We’re growing quickly, but in a controlled fashion,” Wilson said. “There’s plenty more work ahead.”

ftomesco@postmedia.com

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